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<\/p>\nDay 2 has come and gone and the Patriots made just two selections and no trades despite having 11 picks still in the basket.\u00a0 Mike Giradi reported yesterday that the Patriots were in talks to move up in the second round.\u00a0 To counter that Pete Schrager of Good Morning Football and the NFL Network said that multiple teams were looking to move up but that not many teams were willing to move down. \u00a0\u00a0That really wasn\u2019t the case as teams did make three trades ahead of the Patriots.\u00a0 Most disappointing was the Atlanta trade of Picks 44 and 110 to Indianapolis for pick #38 in which Atlanta selected OT Matthew Bergeron from Syracuse.\u00a0 Phil Perry had stated earlier in the day that Bergeron was a target of the Patriots and he had received the seal of approval from Dante Scarnechia, the former O-line coach.\u00a0 Scar did work out some prospects and did some film reviews of potential prospects.<\/p>\n
Then the Lions jumped ahead of the Patriots at pick #45 to select S Brian Branch from Alabama.\u00a0 That cost them #48 and #159.\u00a0 So there were trades to be made.\u00a0 Did teams just not want to trade with Bill Belichick and the Patriots?\u00a0 The Patriots did not receive fair compensation for pick #14 (1100 pts).\u00a0 They received #17 (950 pts) and 120 (68 pts) which was \u2013 82 for the Pats.\u00a0 The trade should have been #17, and #80 for #14, #184, and #187.\u00a0\u00a0 If anything Pittsburgh should have paid more to move up.<\/p>\n
The two players I wanted out of day 2 were WR Jonathan Mingo (#39 to Carolina) and OT Tyler Steen (#65 to Philadelphia).\u00a0 I knew that both players were going to be picked well in advance of their PFF Rankings and that the Patriots would have to select them earlier than projected.\u00a0 I never thought that Mingo would go on pick 39 and Steen on pick 65.\u00a0 PFF had them at 83 and 107 respectively.\u00a0 Bill Belchicks inability to make trades (for whatever reason) disappointed me.<\/p>\n
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Don\u2019t get me wrong, the players they did select are quality athletes.\u00a0 Keion White was listed in many mock drafts as a 1st<\/sup> round player.\u00a0 White looked pissed that he was finally drafted #46 by the Patriots. \u00a0He is a quiet person and all business.\u00a0 I think this snub will motivate him.\u00a0 When compared to the Patriots’ standard for the DE position White exceeds the standards in almost every category (8 of.\u00a0 White had a RAS Score of 9.92.\u00a0\u00a0 White started as a TE at Old Dominion and switched to DE before he transferred to Georgia Tech.\u00a0 He missed most of 2021 with injuries and when he came back for 4 games, playing at just 60 percent.<\/p>\n In his career, White started 33 of the 36 games he played in.\u00a0 His long arms, longer than most OTs, help him hold off blockers and set the edge.\u00a0 He had 19 TFL at Old Dominion in his 1st<\/sup> year playing DL.\u00a0 That is a school record. \u201cI\u2019m a very big business person,\u201d White said. \u201cI\u2019m not too big into the glitz and glamour of football. I want to work. I want to win. I feel like that\u2019s what the Patriots offer and that\u2019s where we meet in the middle at.\u201d\u00a0 The Patriots had no contact with White during the draft process.\u00a0 They selected him anyways.\u00a0 White didn\u2019t look happy at being selected by the Patriots, but that may be a surprise more than anything. \u00a0White was one of 17 prospects invited to the draft and spent the first night in the Green Room, but never heard his name called.\u00a0 He skipped being there another night but did not regret the experience.\u00a0 He was pleased that he was one of those 17 that got the full NFL draft experience.<\/p>\n Who the heck is Marte Mapu?\u00a0 He is a clone of Kyle Dugger.\u00a0 At 6\u20193, 221 lbs he still runs a 4.67 40.\u00a0 When he was drafted, the NFL announced him as a Linebacker.\u00a0 He has been climbing up the draft boards since the Senior Bowl.\u00a0 Mapu was a combine snub and the 1st<\/sup> player drafted didn\u2019t participate in the combine.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Mapu tore a Pectoral muscle working out and was not able to have a Pro Day workout.\u00a0 The 40 time I got from NFL Draftscout\u2019s estimate.<\/p>\n I knew of Marte from conducting multiple mock drafts and it was interesting seeing his progression up the draft board from a 7th-round project to his final rank of 125 by PFF.\u00a0 Was it a reach to take him at #76?\u00a0 I really don\u2019t think so, especially as the Patriots list him as an LB.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think he will be a Safety but more along that Hybrid role of SS\/LB.\u00a0 He can cover and show that at the Senior Bowl practices.\u00a0 Mapu was unknown before those workouts and all the scouts had to go back and look at his video again (or for some the first time).\u00a0 He does not have a RAS score because he wasn\u2019t invited to the combine and couldn\u2019t work out at his Pro-Day.\u00a0 The Patriots had him in for one of their 30 allowed visits.\u00a0 This was probably for a medical checkout as well as an evaluation of how he processes info.<\/p>\n Pats fans are a little miffed that the Patriots have not selected any Offensive help yet.\u00a0 I will say that the players I liked were selected much higher than even I projected and I think the Patriots moved onto the Best Player Available which happened to be Defensive help.\u00a0 I think you will see them take Offensive players on Day 3.<\/p>\n What do I look for today?\u00a0 I am very surprised that mammoth Ohio State Right Tackle Dawand Jones has not been selected.\u00a0 PFF had him as the #31 ranked player overall and he is the top player left on their board.\u00a0 Both Evan Lazar, Patriots.com, and the 33rd<\/sup> Team have Dawand Jones as their #14 player out of their top 50.\u00a0 The 6\u20198\u201d 378 lb giant would look really nice next to Michael Owenu.\u00a0 Nobody would be asking \u201cWhere\u2019s the beef\u201d.<\/p>\n Three other tackles are on my list.\u00a0 Blake Freeland OT BYU should go early in round 4.\u00a0 Nick Saldiveri a relatively unknown OT from Old Dominion is probably a 5th-round selection and finally Jake Witt, a D2 player from Northern Michigan.\u00a0 The 6\u20197\u201d 306 lb tackle didn\u2019t even allow a QB pressure all season.\u00a0 \u00a0Witt has a 9.8 RAS.\u00a0 Dane Brugler of The Athletic states that Witt will get drafted.\u00a0 He is a former TE and that may be how the team could keep him on the roster as the 3rd<\/sup> TE.<\/p>\n Wide receivers are another area in which the Patriots need help.\u00a0 Cincinnati\u2019s Tyler Scott had 55 catches for 904 yards (16.4 YPC) and is the #85 ranked player in PFF Big Board.\u00a0 I love Charlie Jones, WR Purdue.\u00a0 He is a pure slot receiver that put up 150 yards against Penn State and Joey Porter.\u00a0 Andrei Iosivas from that football factory Princeton is a world-class track athlete who reminds me of Chris Hogan.\u00a0 Late in the draft the diminutive Demario Douglas (5\u20198\u201d) from Liberty and Ronnie Bell of Michigan are two guys that could help.\u00a0 Bell had a 6.62 3-cone drill.<\/p>\n QB Dorian Taylor-Robinson from UCLA was on their East-West Shrine team. \u00a0Trey Dean S Florida was the Defensive MVP on their E\/W team.\u00a0 Jarrod Clark, \u00a0Coastal Carolina, is a local kid from Dorchester.\u00a0 He impressed at the Senior Bowl and is a true NT.\u00a0 I like Cory Trice CB from Purdue and I like adding another DB.\u00a0 UAB CB Starling Thomas V also played on the E\/W team.\u00a0 You have to think they are taking a K and or punter.<\/p>\n I was shocked that San Francisco took K Jake Moody at the end of the 3rd<\/sup> round (#99).\u00a0 Moody played on the Pats E\/W team and was expected to be drafted by the NE.\u00a0 Etan Evans a D2 kicker\/punter from Wingate, P Adam Korsack, and P Mike Turk are possibilities.\u00a0 The last two players I\u2019ll mention are \u00a0QBs Clayton Tune (HOU) and Burlsworth Award winner Stetson Bennett.\u00a0 Tune is a big-arm QB and Bennett is the two-time National Championship MVP at just under 6\u2019.\u00a0 The Patriots will bring in another QB, if just for camp.<\/p>\n They will take a TE today, I just have no idea who that will be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Day 2 has come and gone and the Patriots made just two selections and no trades despite having 11 picks still in the basket.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":46124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23232],"tags":[23262],"class_list":["post-46120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2023-patriots-draft","tag-2023-patriots-draft"],"yoast_head":"\n